Exercise devices are being used at an ever increasing rate. Individuals use exercise devices to improve their health and fitness level. Many exercise devices are used when an individual's schedule or inclement weather prohibits the individual from exercising outdoors. Additionally, some exercise devices, such as treadmills, are used to train for competitions. For instance, distance runners often use treadmills to train for upcoming races. Such training allows the individual to conveniently monitor various aspects of their performance (e.g., pace, cadence, speed, distance, time, etc.) during their training session since many treadmills track and display such information. Additionally, treadmills with adjustably inclining treadbases can also simulate the terrain the user will experience during the upcoming race. As a result, individuals do not have to train at the actual location of an upcoming race to be familiar with the race course.
While treadmills can be useful in exercising and training for a race, some individuals find it difficult to manipulate the treadmill controls, and thereby adjust the operating parameters of the treadmill, while exercising on the treadmill. The difficulty in manipulating the treadmill controls often increases as individuals increase their speed from walking to jogging to running. Not only can it become more difficult to manipulate the treadmill controls as an individual's speed increases, but reaching to manipulate the treadmill controls can also have a negative impact on the individual's exercise performance. For instance, it may be difficult for an individual to maintain his/her pace and/or form when reaching to manipulate the treadmill controls.
Various exercise devices have been developed that allow for the adjustment of a treadmill's operating parameters without requiring an individual to manipulate controls on the treadmill console. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,070 discloses a hand-held controller for remotely controlling an exercise device such as a treadmill. The hand-held controller includes buttons and a transceiver that communicates with the treadmill to adjust the operating parameters of the treadmill. Similarly, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0004562 discloses a remote control for wirelessly communicating with a treadmill to control the treadmill. Other exercise devices that allow for the adjustment of operating parameters without manipulation of console controls are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,418, U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,337, U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,391, U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,532, U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,924, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,740,009.